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Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Dusty, breathing hard from the pain, nodded. “I can take it.” He chuckled. “Survive all those battles in Falador and all, just to get here and bust myself up going swimming.”
“It’s crazy,” Lucas said softly. “I guess there’s no real logic to it.”
“Now*s not the time to get philosophical,” Sorokin said harshly. “Do you have any idea how to set a bone?”
Lucas flinched. “I’ve read about it.”
“You and your books,” he muttered. “Get over here. Sit behind him, yeah, like that. Now, you’re going to hold his arm in place. I’m going to set it. Just keep him still. Dusty, try not to move. If we can get it on the first try, you’ll be okay.”
Sorokin knelt down in front of the injured soldier, while Lucas tensed behind him, bracing the shoulder and arm. Dusty’s body went rigid. For a moment, the medic ran his fingers over the arm, prodding tenderly to determine the extent of the injury.
“Try to relax,” Lucas murmured. “It’ll be over in a second.”
Sorokin grasped the dislocated part of the arm tightly in both hands, then repositioned himself. “On the count of three – one, two, THREE!” He pushed and twisted and there was a loud crack, and Dusty screamed. Lucas had to throw all his weight on him to keep him from writhing away. The muscles on his arms stood out as he struggled to hold Dusty down.
“Good!” Sorokin said encouragingly. “There’s the elbow. We just have to set the broken bone now.*
*There’s more?” Dusty gasped.
“Don’t dive into the rocks, man,” Sorokin said. “Lucas, get me some sticks about the length of his arm. As flat as possible.”
Lucas scrambled towards the jungle to complete the task, and Dusty slumped sideways, support gone. Lucas was able to find the sticks within just a few minutes, long, broad sticks that would make the perfect splint. He broke them over his knee to make them the appropriate length.

18-Aug-2011 03:23:24

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
As he returned, he examined Dusty. The man’s skin was ashen, covered in sweat. Lucas hadn’t noticed how old he was before – there were lines on his face, and streaks of gray in his hair. He moved and spoke like someone much younger.
He dumped the sticks on the ground, and Sorokin examined them. He couldn’t help being hurt by the look of perpetual distaste Sorokin had – was he still so angry? “Will they work?” he asked quietly.
“Sure,” Sorokin said, sorting them apart for the ones he wanted. Then he directed them back to the same positions as before, and Soorkin felt along the arm for the broken bone. Finding the pieces, he counted to three and pushed them back together. “Lucas!” he yelled. “The sticks!”
Lucas grabbed the sticks and arranged them on either side of the arm. Finally Sorokin let go and finished setting the splint, while calling for Lucas to grab a cloth to wrap it with. They bound the sticks together with long strips of clothing tied around them. Dusty sat very still know, eyes closed tightly, breathing hard. *All done,” Lucas announced.
“Let him sit for a bit,” Sorokin ordered, and stood up, wiping his hands. Lucas followed suit, and noticed that he himself was drenched in sweat. It had become hot while they were working. Looking up, he saw that the sun was now high in the sky. It must have been nearly noon. He thought of jumping back in the pool, but noticed Jonah walking toward them.
“How long till he can move?”
“An hour. Maybe two,” Sorokin said.
“Just one,” Dusty declared.
Jonah turned to him, face bright red with rage. “You goddamn idiot!” he spat. Lucas saw his fists clenching, and wondered if he would dare go so far as to hit his soldier.
“Jonah!” Sorokin stepped carefully between them, perhaps having noticed as well. “It was an accident. We’ll move soon.”

18-Aug-2011 03:23:54

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“We’re sititng ducks here. No cover, nothing. Get him ready fast.” Jonah turned and stomped away. Lucas looked at Sorokin, who was shaking his head in disbelief.
“Shut up. He’s fine,” Sorokin said.
“Can you stand?” Lucas said to Dusty, ignoring his mentor.
“Yeah, think so.” With his free hand, the soldier grabbed Lucas, who helped him upright.
“Let’s get you back in the sun so you can rest.”
Together, Lucas and Sorokin helped Dusty, who stumbled often, weak with pain, back over to the rest of the men. There they laid him down on the rocks, where he stretched out in the sunlight and closed his eyes. Lucas knelt by the waterfall to wash his hands. He soon noticed a hush had fallen over the muttering group – Jonah paced back and forth before them.
“Everyone knows what happened to Dusty today.” He paused, thinking. “I don’t want that to happen again. I need you capable of fighting. We can’t afford to risk lives on stupid, foolish mistakes. The next man who does something like this…will be left behind. Because we can’t afford to waste time. I tried to allow us all to enjoy ourselves a little, but once we go deeper, we have to stay focused. There’s no room for error. Understood?”
The men nodded in shocked silence.
“You men have one hour. Then I want you to wake Dusty up, and we’re moving from now until nightfall.” He walked away, to sit by the edge of the water. It took the men a moment to realize that was the end of his speech. Gradually they drifted apart, some going back into the water, others laying out to take naps in the sun. Lucas, who did*’t want to be alone with his thoughts” caught up with Nathan and invited him for another round of cards. They spread out on the hot rocks, talking and playing. Lucas felt peaceful, happy, and wondered if there was any way that they could all just stay like this forever, and forget all about the war.

18-Aug-2011 03:24:31

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Sorokin went to sit by Jonah and let his feet hang in the water. He was shirtless, the sun hot on his dark skin, his hair slowly drying in thick brown curls. He nudged the commander, who barely moved. Jonah stared deep into the pool, ignoring all else.
“Dusty’s going to be fine,” he offered.
“Can he hold a sword?”
Sorokin shrugged. “Yeah, I think it was his off arm.”
“What if it wasn’t? What if he’d rendered himself completely useless? He’d be as good as dead out here.”
Sorokin was silent for a long time, sitting Jonah out.
Finally, the commander said, “This place makes me nervous.”
“Yeah, man, don’t blame you. You’re the only one of us that really knows what’s out there.”
Jonah stared at his hands, silent for a long time. Finally, he admitted quietly, “I shouldn’t have agreed to do this mission.”
“Why did you?”
Jonah sighed. “We all just make the same mistakes, over and over again. Something made me want to come back here.”
Sorokin smiled sadly. “It’s kind of beautiful, you know? All this jungle.”
“Careful, now,* Jonah warned. “You’ll get sucked in.” He laid back on the rocks and threw his arm over his eyes. “Wake me when the hour’s up, will you?” And with that, he dismissed Sorokin and promptly fell asleep.

18-Aug-2011 03:25:41

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Not long after, the group began traveling through the forest once more. Much like the morning, they moved in silence, even more somber than before. Dusty moved slowly at the back of the line, and Lucas or Sorokin would drop back periodically to check on him. He claimed to be fine and urged them on.
It had become sweltering hot, and the sweat poured down their faces and backs. Lucas could feel his backpack sticking to him, and tried to shift the weight. His shoulders ached. He couldn’t block everything out like he did earlier, and soon became bored, wishing to escape the wandering of his mind. He wished he had someone to talk to, to help pass the time. He tried to imagine the book he would write when he got back. It would be a history of the war, a memoir of his travels…it would be one of the greatest accounts of war ever written.
“What’s with the goofy smile?”
Lucas jerked out of his daydream to find Sorokin keeping pace next to him. “I was just, uh, thinking,” he muttered.
“About that girl?”
“No,* Lucas protested. “I was thinking about, you know, after the war.”
Sorokin chuckled. “Oh, man, don’t get your hopes up or nothing. It’s fun to dream, but the realities never measure up.”
Lucas nodded silently. He did*’t want Sorokin to get to him, but he was frustrated with being treated like a naïve child.
After a moment of silence, Sorokin said, “So what are you thinking about? For when you get home?”
Lucas thought of his book, and flushed brightly. “Just...that first meal. Home cooked, real food. And some apple cider.”
Sorokin groaned his approval. “And like, a big juicy steak.”
“Some fresh pasta…”
“A salad, some cute little nuts in it or something…”
Lucas stopped and stared at Sorokin, laughing.
“What?” Sorokin said. “I like fancy food like that.”

27-Aug-2011 15:25:23

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
The laughter sobered them both, and they walked in silence for a few minutes. Lucas stumbled over a root, and had to grab his friend’s arm for balance. Lucas couldn’t help wondering whey Sorokin had come to talk to him, since he’d been so angry earlier. Maybe it was an olive branch. Determined to take it, he began, “Look, Sorokin, I’m sorry about – you know, all the stuff with Jonah. I know it’s not my place.”
Sorokin waved a hand dismissively. “I get it, man. Look, Jonah’s got his issues – but so do all of us. He’s good. It was an accident, I promise you.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Lucas said.
“If there’s anyone you need to believe in to survive this war, it’s not your girl. It’s this guy. Believe in him, he’ll get us out of here alive.”
“It’s hard to believe in a man you barely know,” Lucas replied.
Sorokin ran a hand through his shaggy hair and frowned. “Yeah, I know. I’ve told him to get closer with his men…I think that’s why he keeps Travis around, to do that for him. But hey…if you approach him, I don’t think he’d shut you out. He’s just not going to make the effort, you know?”
Lucas scoffed. “You think I should just go talk to him? Because he obviously wants to get to know me.”
“You’d be surprised, man.” Sorokin clapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe not to today, he’s in a foul mood. But we got time. Think about it. I’m going to go check on Dusty.” With that, he drifted back in the lines, leaving Lucas to meander on alone.

Many hours later, the sun had begun to set * Lucas could feel the dark twilight settling over the jungle and the temperature was dropping. He picked up his pace, hoping it would keep him warm. This brought him to the front of the line, near Travis and Jonah, who conversed a ways ahead.

27-Aug-2011 15:26:08

Crystal Smee

Crystal Smee

Posts: 7,994 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Lucas felt their path curve in a new direction. Not long after, he began to hear a rushing sound – another waterfall? No, it was the ocean; he could smell the salt in the air. They emerged on tall,, windswept cliffs. They were a reddish-brown color, barren of any sort of growth. Far below, the water crashed against the foot of the cliffs. They were on a narrow plateau that dipped and rose where waves had once long ago eroded them away. Lucas peered further down the cliffs, but there was no sign of their boat before the point of land curved and went out of sight.
Travis, his long hair whipping in the wind, waved his hands for them to stop and told them to make camp.
“And no diving off the cliffs,” Jonah barked. “In case you idiots need to be told.”
The men unshouldered their gear and began to pitch their tents. When he was done, Lucas went over to Sorokin. “Hey, can I ask you something? About some military strategy stuff?”
“Sure, man.”
“Why are we staying out here on the cliffs? Aren’t we totally exposed in the open?”
Sorokins aid, “Who’s gonna see us, coming from the water? There’s nobody out here. It’s a defensible point, and we’ll set guards. The natives can only come from one direction.”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
“Talk to Travis – he knows this stuff more than I do. Strategy ain’t my thing.”
“Thanks.”
Lucas drifted away, to the one small fire Jonah had allowed for cooking dinner. Someone had caught fish in the waterfall pond earlier, and now the smell wafted over their small encampment, making Lucas’ stomach rumble. He sat near the fire, trying to soak up the warmth and observing the other soldiers. He was lost in thought when a tap on the shoulder jerked him awake.

27-Aug-2011 15:26:45

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